CHAPTER 9: A breath of fresh air...

Randol

When I said this, Celeste comes to a dead stop. Her eyes get as wide as saucers too. It takes everything I have not to fall down laughing.

"What the hell do you mean see you naked?" she basically screams this at me.

Okay. Can't help it anymore. Have to laugh. When I can breathe again, I explain myself. "I want to shift and introduce you to Kai, my wolf. He's going to give you a ride around the forest, to get some fresh air. In order to do that, I have to take my clothes off or they'll shred in the process. This way I can go behind a tree to preserve my modesty."

"Two things. Number one, you should lead with that explanation next time you try to coerce a girl to go into the woods with you. Number two, I doubt, very seriously, that you have any modesty, Randol."

I clap my hand over my heart and gasp in mock hurt. "Ms. Torelli, you wound me." She chuckles that cute little chuckle that makes Kai wag his tail. Settle down, boy. "That little chuckle of yours is very cute. Ya know that?" She blushes slightly and grins at me. "Well, here we are. Wait here, and I'll go right back there, and shift. Don't be startled when I come out. Kai is pretty large."

"Okay, I'll do my best." She widens her stance, like she's bracing herself. I can't help but smile to myself as I walk into the tree line to shield myself behind a tree. Just so we're clear, I would have no problem being naked in front of Celeste. Let's face it, she was right. I have no modesty. It might even help my chances with her if she saw me naked. Trust me, I'm not being cocky. I work hard on my body, and my shifter genes help a lot, especially below the belt. I've never had anything but positive feedback, but I don't want her to think I'm just some perv, trying to get in her pants. This girl is different. This girl is special.

"Everything okay, Randol?"

"Yep. Last chance to see me naked before I shift."

I hear a sigh beyond the trees. "Dream on, mutt!" I can't help but laugh.

"All right, suit yourself. Here we go." Then without another word, I close my eyes and let the shift take over. I really hope this doesn't scare her off. Kai can be intimidating even for other paranormals. Specifically those of non - shifter species. I think it's just weird for them to see the difference in the human size and wolf size. She can handle it, I think. She's strong.

Celeste

I'm standing near the trees waiting for Randol to come out, when I see movement. Before I know it an extremely large wolf emerges. I mean, extremely!

"Holy shit!" I bellow. Hearing this, the wolf whines, lays his ears back, and starts to back away. "No, no. Don't leave. I wasn't scared. At all. It's just..." I pause before continuing "Well, Randol is a very good - looking guy, but Kai, you outdo him, by far. You are gorgeous. Wow." His tongue then hangs out of his open mouth as he pants. It almost looks like he's smiling. He then comes toward me and lays his nose at my feet with his bottom in the air. Oh! He's bowing. "Hahah. I guess that makes you happy. I'm sure Randol will have some quippy remark later on." I reach down and place my hand on his nose. "Your fur is ridiculously soft."

Kai lowers the back half of his body down to the ground and lifts his head. He then turns his head and looks at his back. Okay. I get it. This is my run. I look him straight in the eyes and say, "All right, but don't go too fast. It's not like there's a saddleback here, you know." He nods his understanding and lowers his head.

I grab on to some of Kai's fur and swing my leg over his back. I stroke the fur going down the back of Kai's neck. I can feel a shiver run down his spine between my thighs. Good God, was it sexy to think my touch did that to him. He slowly stands, making sure I was stable before letting out a little howl. Just then he takes off. Slowly at first, but he quickly picks up speed. I hold on tight while I enjoy the wind whipping my hair around. I can feel a mound of muscle writhing rhythmically beneath me. This is really amazing. I let out an excited laugh. Kai runs like this for about half an hour before returning to our starting point. He then lowers his body to the ground next to his clothes, panting. I slide down and run my hand down the length of his back a few times. Again, he shivers. "Hahah, breathing pretty hard there, huh?" He lets out a little grunt. How cute. "All right, tough guy. I'm going back to the edge of the trees to wait for you." He raises his head but doesn't stand. I bend down and kiss his nose. "Thank you, Kai. That was amazing. I'm glad I got to meet you." He puts his big nose against my cheek and nuzzles it, clearly saying "You're welcome." I laugh and walk off to wait for him.

Randol

I lie there on the ground, panting, after Celeste walks away. Some of it is the run, but most of it is the fact that I am so turned on, I can't calm my heart down. While I was running, I could feel her toned legs squeezing my chest. I could feel her digging her hands into my fur to hold on, pulling slightly. The thing that did me in, though, is the heat I could feel radiating across my back from between her thighs. Every time I heard her heartbeat speed up, the heat grew. Oh, this is not helping. I have to calm down, so I can shift.

After some deep breaths, and thinking about baseball, I finally calm down enough to shift and get dressed. I make my way out of the woods to Celeste. I smell her before I see her, that intoxicating aroma of coconut and vanilla. Mmmm. Shit! Calm. Calm. You just got it together, Randol. Don't lose your shit now. I emerge from the trees, and she looks up from the rock she's been kicking, and beams a smile at me.

"I thought for a minute you decided to stay a wolf, and live out your days in the woods."

"Sorry. Had to calm my breathing before I could shift. You ready to head back?"

"Yeah. It's almost dinnertime, and I want to take a nice hot shower first."

I can hear whining in the back of my head. I know, boy, me too. "Let's go then." Guess I'll go have a cold shower.

We walk back toward the house in silence for a few minutes. I look over at her, and she's grinning, which also makes me smile. "So did you have fun?"

"It was amazing, Randol. Thank you for taking me, but why did you? You didn't need to thank me for making you run errands with me."

"Well, you want the truth or the previously prepared good - boy answer?"

"I have always been a fan of the truth, so let's go with that."

"The truth, Celeste, is that I like you. Sharing Kai with someone is a very special and personal thing for me. By introducing you to him, I am, in shifter language, letting you know I'm interested in you."

"Wow. That sounds very personal, indeed. I guess I should be honored."

"Hahah. I don't know about honored, but I do hope you feel something."

"I do feel something. I'm not sure what yet, but something."

"I can work with something. It's the nothing that puts a kink in things."

She giggles before saying, "If I'm being honest, though..." Oh shit! What? What? "I don't know if the something is for you or Kai." Whew! I am totally fine with either at this point, but in true showman form I fall against the doorway of her room, which we've just arrived at.

"Celeste Torelli, your breaking my heart!" Yes! A smile. "I feel jealous of my own wolf right now. I'm not sure I should let you two meet again until you're already madly in love with me." Double score, a laugh.

Then she throws me completely off my game. She drops her voice to a low, seductive tone and purrs out, "What can I say? He's a sexy beast." And dick is hard. There is a howl inside my head that I cannot quiet.

"Holy shit, on that note, I better go back to my own room now before I can't physically make myself anymore."

She steps closer. "Thank you for today." She reaches up on her tiptoes with her hands on my shoulders, and kisses me on the cheek. "Both of you." She then turns and goes into her room and closes the door. I let out a breath I didn't even know I had been holding. I walk down the hall to my room, fist pumping. Jesus, man! What is wrong with you? Act like an adult! Nope. Can't help it. Too happy right now. It's going to be a great retreat!